


Declared the Missing Dead Only After 7 Years to Avoid Confusion

by Fallenguardianangel7



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Exiled TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), I tried my best, Piglin Hybrid Tommyinnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ram Hybrid Toby Smith | Tubbo, Regretful Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Sad Toby Smith | Tubbo, Survival, Temporary Character Death, Vice President Alexis | Quackity, Video Game Mechanics, we're pretending the egg isn't a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 11:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30121743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenguardianangel7/pseuds/Fallenguardianangel7
Summary: Tommyinnit isn't having a good time in exile, and realizes that dream is only there to watch him a little sooner.Join him carrying out his exile in hiding and the changes that happen to him.This was written well I was thinking about how things survive in the nether, it got out of hand and got a lot longer then I intended.
Relationships: Jack Manifold & Niki | Nihachu, No Romantic Relationship(s), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 16
Kudos: 218





	Declared the Missing Dead Only After 7 Years to Avoid Confusion

Tommy sat curled up in his tent, shivering as he pulled his thin blanket around himself, wincing at the movement aggravated his injured, bandaged shoulder. Dream hadn’t even allowed him to grab even a sweater before he was pushed out of the country he had helped build, and now he was stuck here, not even allowed any tools to protect himself without it getting blown to bits by Dream. He scoffed to himself, remembering how Dream had told him it was for his own good, that he was being his friend. 

Tommy picked up Chirp, sliding it into the jukebox, setting it to play once and allowing himself to relax as the music washed over him. Dream wasn’t here to be his friend. Dream was a liar and a bitch. He was only here because the president (Tommy refused to think of them as Tubbo, Tubbo wouldn’t leave him here, Tubbo wouldn’t abandon him-) told him to escort him out of L’Manburg, that was his only job.

He stopped, eyes widening as he repeated those words again in his mind. Dreams only job was to escort him out.... thinking back, the only rule of the exile was he wasn’t allowed in L’Manburg. He didn’t have to stay here. He didn't have to let Dream do this to him. Tommy shot up, the cold forgotten as he smiled, laughter bubbling out of him. 

He didn’t have to stay here. There were no rules saying he did. There weren’t even any rules about anyone having to watch him. He could just leave and-

Tommy stopped. Where would he go? He had no gear, and Dream would never let him just leave.

He slumped back onto the bed, running thin hands through grease, unkept hair. It was times like these when Tommy wished he was like Ghostbur. No one questioned where Ghostbur went when he wasn’t around. How do you stop a dead man from doing something anyways? They could just disappear, and you’d be like ‘Oh, they’re dead, must be in ghost land or something,’ No one looks for a dead man. 

Tommy stopped again, the gears in his head turning. No one looked for someone who was dead... and Tommy had only one life left. Tommy looked around him, Dream wouldn’t look for him if he was dead, no one would. He could carry out this stupid exile alone without Dream coming to mess everything up for him. But how did he make things convincing?

The stead music of Chirp trailed off, and Tommy looked over as the disk popped out. He was known for his love of disks and music. If he left that behind.... 

He grabbed the jukebox, pulling it out of the tent and to the beach, setting the jukebox on its side and smearing some sand on it to make it look like it fell over. He ran back to his tent, searching through his only chest to grab some gunpowder from when he killed a creeper a few days ago as well as a wooden shovel. Running back to the beach, he began digging a hole, making it as similar to a creeper hole as he could remember, smearing the gunpowder on the jukebox and the sand. 

Stepping back to see he work, he nodded to himself. This would work. Tommy took out Chirp, running his finger over the grooves with guilt. 

“Sorry about this,” he mumbled, slipping the disk back into the jukebox, setting it to play on repeat. He then tore some pieces off his already destroyed shirt, scattering them around the site. Pulling at the bandages of his wounded shoulder, he winced as he pushed his fingers against the blood and began to smear it around. Problem not the safest thing, but this needed to look convincing. He looked over it all, nodding to himself. It looked like a creeper had exploded here. Taking Tommy with him. Tommy turned, picking up his wooden shovel and began walking back towards his tent to search for anything else of use before stopping again. Where would he go? He was a pretty recognizable figure in the SMP, everyone knew he was exiled, and would likely report him to Dream, and that would really piss the bastard off. Tommy groaned, pacing back and forth outside his tent, trying to think of any place he could go without someone finding him, sighing, he leaned against the warm frame of his nether portal. Trying to keep the cold at bay again as he thought. Tommy gazed into the swirling purple of the portal, silent as the sound of Chirp play on loop filled his ears. He wished he could just find somewhere warm to stay, it was always so cold here. He hated the cold. It reminded him of poorly lit ravines and dark hallways.

Somewhere warm....

Tommy stared at the portal, a desperate, half formed idea coming to mind. 

A part of him pointing out the logical stupidity of the idea, but hey, he was on his last life, exiled again from the home he fought so hard for, and really, really cold. 

“Fuck it,” He decided, and stepped through the portal.  
\--------------  
Ghostbur smiled as he floated into Logedshire, a compass clutched tightly in his hand. It was linked to a second, and they would always point to the owner of the compass. The first had been given to Tubbo, and the one in his hands would be a gift to Tommy. He had been really sad lately Its Dreams fault don’t trust him don’t trust anyone , and even though Ghostbur had been giving him as much blue as he could, he thought this would help a lot more. Floating though Tommy’s nether portal, he stepped into Tommy’s vacation home just as the sun began to rise, and he could hear Chirp coming from the beach. Ghostbur began following the sound, humming along happily. 

“Tommy! Tommy, I have a present for you!” He called, floating down the beach. 

He stopped, eyes falling on a strange explosion crater blow it all to hell hole beside a jukebox on its side. But no Tommy. He looked around, confused, maybe he was swimming? “Tommy?” He called again, floating towards the water, “Tommy? Where are you?” He floated just above the water, searching for any sign of his right-hand man friend. Ghostbur looked around the camp again, floating over to the tent, checking inside, seeing an empty bed. He floated over to his tent, checking in there. Nothing again. 

“Tommy? This isn’t funny!” Ghostbur called out, compass gripped tightly to his chest, “come out Tommy!”

There was no response.

Ghostbur floated around the camp again, checking to see if he had just missed him. He had to have missed him he promised not to leave he promised There was still no sign of him, so Ghostbur floated over to Tommy’s tent, sitting down on the floor by Tommy’s bed, “You must be mining Tommy, right? That’s why you’re not here. Don’t worry! I can wait for you,” Ghostbur called happily, getting comfortable.

\--------------------

Dream walked through the nether, aimlessly playing with his axe as he approached the portal to Tommy’s new home to check on him. It was a bit of a chore, but he had to make sure that Tommy was still there and not causing any more problems for him. Stepping through the portal, he looked around, eyes narrowing as he heard Chirp. When had Tommy gotten that? His eyes fell on Ghostbur, humming happily along well he held something tightly to his chest. Signing, he got ready for a confusing and annoying conversation as he walked over, “Hey Ghostbur.”

The Ghost looked up, smiling brightly, “Hi Dream! Tommy’s not here right now. I’m waiting for him to come back! Want to join me?” They asked, already moving over to make space for Dream to sit. 

Dream stared at him, “What do you mean Tommy’s not here right now? I can hear a disk playing. I guess it belongs to him?”

Ghostbur nodded, “Yep, he must have forgot to turn it off before he left. Don’t know why that holes there though...” Ghostbur trailed off, eyes going blank as they began to mumble to themselves. 

Dream stared at him, before speaking up to get the ghost’s attention, “What hole?” 

Ghostbur blinked, looking back up at him, “There’s a hole?” 

Dream sighed, turning and walking to where the music was coming from, ignoring the fact that Ghostbur had started following him, item still clutched in hand. Dream turned around one last tree, looked down at the beach, and froze. 

No.

He stared in shock at the fallen jukebox, still happily playing Chirp on loop, the wide hole that smelled faintly of gunpowder, the blood and scraps of torn and burnt cloth. 

No.

Dream stumbled forward, running towards the scene, crouching beside it and looking for something, anything, to prove that Tommy was still here. That he didn’t- No. Tommy was too stubborn. He wouldn’t- he couldn’t-

“Oh, that doesn’t look good” Ghostbur commented, looking down at the pit, “Someone should cover that up.”

Dream flinched, before looking up at Ghostbur, “Have you... seen Tommy since you got here?”

Ghostbur shook his head, “Nope! I looked all over the Logedshire, so that’s how I knew he had to be mining!” He explained cheerfully.

Dream stared at him, a pit of guilt and dread filling him as he slowly stood up, “Ghostbur... we should go talk to Tubbo.”

The ghost shook his head, “I have to stay here, I really need to give something to Tommy, so I’ll just wait for him!” They turned, floating back to the tent. Dream stared, guilt waying him down as he looked back at the scene before him. He slowly turned, stumbling back towards the nether portal. Pulling himself through it, he began to speed up slowly till he was at full sprint, heading for L’Manburg.

He collapsed through the portal, startling George before he scrambled up and kept going. George stared at him, before running after him, wanting to see what had shaken his friend up so badly. 

\--------

Tubbo was sitting at his desk in the Whitehouse, staring at the compass in his hands as he waited for it to activate. Ghostbur had said that it would only start following its mark once the other compass was in the hands of the owner it was made for. Ghostbur had said he was going to give Tommy his compass this morning, and the sun was already high in the sky with no movement from the compass. He sighed, looking down at half-finished paperwork, thinking he should get started on it when he heard something outside his office.

“Hey you can’t-”

“Out of the way!” 

Tubbo sighed, recognizing Dream's voice, he put the compass away, not surprised when the door opened seconds later.

“Dream, you can’t just barge in whenever you want-” Tubbo froze as he looked up. Dream wasn’t wearing his armour, it looked like it had been hastily removed, and their clothes looked burnt in some places.

Dream breath heavily as a pissed Quackity and confused looking George followed after him, “What the hell man? You can’t just keep doing this!” Quackity exclaimed, glaring at the masked figure.

Dream took a minute to catch his breath, before speaking in a very soft voice, “I’m sorry.”

Everyone stared at him in shock, the room silent except for Dream’s harsh breathing. Tubbo leaned over towards Quackity, “Pinch me.”

Quackity did, causing Tubbo to yelp in pain, “Not that hard!”

Dream just shook his head, “Tubbo, I am so sorry,”

Tubbo stared at him, before George spoke up, “For what?” 

Dream jumped, noticing George was there for the first time. That worried Tubbo even more, Dream was always aware of what was happening around him.

Dream lowered his head, “I- I want to check on Tommy today and-” Dream paused, taking a deep breath and continuing, “I found a creeper hole with a jukebox play beside it. Ghostbur was there and said they hadn’t seen Tommy.”

Fear filled the young president, standing up, “Then we have to go find him! He could- he could be hurt- or, or in trouble, or-” 

“Tubbo,” Dream interrupted, “The blood has been there all night.”

Tubbo stopped, staring at him, “.... What are you saying?”

“Tubbo,” Dream stared quietly, speaking like he was talking to a scared animal, “Tubbo I’m sorry.”

Tubbo stared back at him. Shock and fear filling him, “No.”

“Tubbo-” Dream began.

“No!” Tubbo screamed, pushing past him, running towards the nether portal, tears running down his face, ignoring the sound of people calling his name. 

Tommy was fine. He had to be fine. 

Running through the nether, ignoring the heat and mobs that passed him, he ran through the portal to Logshire, excepting (Praying) that Tommy would be there, would be laughing, saying how he had pranked them. 

But all he found was a forgetful ghost, and the sound of Chirp.  
\----------------------  
Tommy wandered through a Crimson forest, grumbling to himself as he looked around. He had already gotten pretty far from his portal, wanting to make sure no one would stumble across him. But he was already realizing several problems with his plan. 

1\. He had no armour.  
2\. He didn’t have much water.  
3\. He didn’t have proper weapons or even a shield.  
4\. His shoes where going.

Groaning, Tommy turned around, deciding to head back to his portal to grab more water and make some proper gear. He narrowed his eyes, looking over the red forest around him.

He didn’t know where he came from.

“You have got to be kidding me.”  
He was just about to pick a random direction to go in when he heard grunting from his right. He reacted, scrambling up the branches of a nearby tree, hands almost slipping a few times from his sweat.  
Safely tucked in the tree, Tommy watched a group of hoglins come out of the fungal undergrowth, sniffing at the bases of the trees. Tommy held his breath, not wanting to alert them to his hiding place. One of the hoglins sniffed the base of his tree, snorting something before digging their tusks into the netherrack, throwing it out to begin making a hole. The other hoglins watched them as the hoglin digging revealed some sort of patch of root plants. Tommy watched them curiously, having never seen such a plant before. The hoglin picked up on of the plants in their jaws, crushing it in one, powerful bite.

Tommy watched as a greenish liquid dripped out of the hoglins mouth, the other hoglins taking their own root before they all moved on. Waiting till he couldn’t hear the hoglins anymore, he slipped out of the tree, looking down at the single root left over. 

“The fuck?” Crouching, Tommy picked up the remaining root, inspecting it with a suspicious eye. After a couple seconds, he held it up to his mouth, biting down. 

“Ow! Fuck,” He glared down at the offending root, the shell(?) too thick for his teeth to break. He dropped it onto the floor, summoning his stone pick from his inventory, raising it before slamming it into the root, breaking it open after a few swings. The root was filled with a strange liquid and some sort of clump of seeds floating in the centre. Inspecting the liquid for a second, he shrugged, “Eh, what’s the worst that could happen?” and took a sip. 

It was uncomfortably warm, and had a tangy taste, but after drinking it, he felt like he had just and a glass of strange tasting water. 

Tommy stared at it, before smiling.

Drinking source found. 

Now time to get armour.

Finishing the liquid, he stood up, pick in hand as he began searching for gold. 

Maybe he could do this.

Scratch that. He can’t do this.

It had been a while, and Tommy was exhausted. His shoes where barely holding together and he was using pieces of his shirt to hold it all together. He had managed to make a gold helmet, as well as keep away from any ghasts, now, he was digging a hole in the wall to make a safe spot to sleep without fear of being discovered. It sucked, and the netherrack floor wasn’t comfortable, but hey, he couldn’t really make a bed, now could he? Slumping against the wall, groaning as his injured shoulder flashed with pain. The bandages where still messed up from when he used his blood to fake his death, and it was really hurting now. 

Sighing, Tommy curled up more on the warm, rocky floor listening to the sounds of bubbling lava and the cries of ghasts, wishing he had something to listen too. 

At least he was warm.

Tommy ducked under the under-bush of the crimson forest, crossbow he had killed a piglin for loaded in hand. It had been difficult to make arrows, he could get wood from the crimson trees and flint from gravel, but there was no chickens in the nether, meaning there was no way to get feathers. It had taken a lot of inspecting and taking apart the few arrows he got of skeletons and piglins to figure it out. They used a type of thin membrane of a mushroom instead of feathers. It was difficult making it, and a lot of his arrows where crude and didn’t fly straight, but he felt much safer from ghasts now that he had something to fight back with that wasn’t punching fireballs right back at them. Which was cool and all, but he would rather not lose his hands. 

Loading a bolt, he slowly raised the crossbow, watching the lone hoglin sniff at the ground. He had gotten into a rhythm during the last few days. He’d hunt hoglins for pork, waiting to see if they found any ‘Nether Roots’ as he’d been calling them before he killed them. Eat and drink, put away what he had left, and then go trade with piglins for things he couldn’t make himself. 

Pulling the trigger, the bolt slammed into the hoglins side. They squealed in pain, turning, and sprinting further into the crimson forest. Cursing, Tommy stood up, grabbing the half buried Nether Root and yanked it out. He didn’t have the energy to chase after the hoglin, though it sucked to lose an arrow. Stashing the Nether Root away into his inventory, he turned and began walking back to the hole in the wall he called home. 

Sitting down, he began unwrapping his shoulder, wincing slightly as he did. His shoulder was still messed up, but he hadn’t been able to get his hands on a health potion to fix it up.

Sighing, Tommy lifted the leather flask he had traded for a couple days ago, drinking the last few drops in the flask before pulling out the root he just got, cracking it open with his golden pick and carefully poured the liquid into it, being careful not to slip anything. He had gotten used to being dehydrated lately. The few first days had been hard, but he was getting used to the limits on water and food. Closing the flask tightly, he let it move back into his inventory. Leaning forward, he began rewrapping his shoulder with the last few bandages he had. He wanted to save them, but he really didn’t want his shoulder to get infected. 

Tommy sighed, laying back against the wall. He had been more tired lately, nightmares of explosions and false smiles plagued him when he closed his eyes. He wondered what Tubbo was doing…

Tommy didn’t know how long he had been here. It’s impossible for him to keep track of time in here, but if he’d have to guess, it had been a couple months. Tommy had changed a lot since he had first got here. His hair was longer and brighter, and he had began learning how to braid it just to keep it out of the way. His first attempts where much too messy and barely did anything, but he was managing to make a decent braid now. His build had changed too, he had more muscle now, though he was still thin, he felt much healthier. He was still uncomfortably hot and dehydrated most of the time, but he was getting used to it. He was decked out in enchanted gold, but he had found 3 diamonds in a Nether Fortress some time ago and had quickly used it to make and upgraded it to a netherrite pick. Once it had been enchanted with a Mending book he had found in a Baston, it, along with a golden axe with a sharpness enchantment, had become his main weapons. Affectionately named ‘Surprise Bitch’ for the pick and ‘Get Fucked’ for the axe. He had used most of the iron he had found(stole) to make an anvil so he could repair his gear and upgrade it instead of having to start again every time something broke. (He didn’t want to lose his tool and armour again. Never again)

Tommy held up a gold ingot, raising any eyebrow to the piglin in front of him. The Piglin inspected the gold for a second, before snorting approvingly, handing over a bag of pearls. Tommy smirked, giving a happy snort in thanks as he turned to leave. Then froze.  
Had he just snorted?

Shaking his head, he started walking again. He must just be getting lonely. It had been a while since he had talked to anyone. He pushed that incident out of his mind, pulling out ‘Get Fucked’ and headed for the crimson forest to hunt. 

Tommy dug his teeth into the pork, wincing slightly as his teeth pinched painfully. Pulling the pork away, he gently poked at his two bottom canines, wincing again as they throbbed.  
“The fuck?” he asked the smokey air he had long got used to. It felt like when he had first gotten his braces on, his teeth throbbing and uncomfortable. Sighing, and hoping that whatever it was would pass, he pulled the pork apart into smaller pieces with his fingers and popped it into his mouth, chewing with his molars.

Spoilers. It did not pass. He woke up with his jaw acing and his skin feeling tight. He spent the day stomping around the nether, growling at any piglin that got too curious.  
Grumbling, he drove his pick with more force then necessary into the gold vein below him. He winced as he crouched down, his legs feeling sore and stiff, throbbing with pain whenever he moved too quickly. Sighing in annoyance, he slowly stood up and limped back to his hole in the wall. Pushing open the Crimson wood door, he dumped the gold nuggets on the side table next to his anvil, ducking under the doorway to his ‘bedroom’. When had he started needing to duck? Too tired and sore to put thought into it, he lowered himself to the ground and curled up, falling asleep to the sounds of the Nether.

\----------------

Tubbo stood in front of the gravestone of Wilbur Soot, silent and numb with a notebook clutched tightly in his hands. The funeral had been done 3 months ago, and Tubbo had refused to go. He didn’t believe Tommy was dead. He was- he was Tommy. So, he had resigned from office, leaving Quackity in charge as he bought a new notebook, beginning to fill it with all the notes and evidence he could about Tommy’s disappearance. 

Ghostbur had joined him too, searching for Tommy in the mines and wilderness well Tubbo searched all the places he could remember Tommy going to before.

The others had tried to console him, looking at him with pity in their eyes and offering him comfort whenever they saw him. But Tubbo just shrugged them off. His best friend was out there, alone, and it was all his fault.

Tubbo took a deep, shaky breath, and turned away well he flipped open his notebook, scratching off another place from the list. He would find Tommy.  
\-----------------  
Tommy woke up in agony. His legs and fingers felt like they were on fire, and his teeth were throbbing angrily, giving him a massive headache. Whimpering, he curled in on himself, eyes squished shut as the copper taste of blood filled his mouth. 

It hurt. It hurt so bad. It felt like the bones in his legs where breaking and healing at rapid pace. He cried out, coughing up the blood he was choking on, along with two bloody teeth. He whimpered again, his jaw screaming in protest as his teeth began to rearrange themselves to make room for something new growing in.

Digging clawed (clawed? When did he have claws?) fingers into his hair, he cried, thick tears running down his cheeks as he weakly called out for help. 

He woke up exhausted and sore. Slowly, he pushed himself up, careful not to cause any more unexpected pain. Tommy’s eyes fluttered open, glancing down at his legs to see what had happened. He froze.

Instead of his normal, human legs, he had the large, hooved, furry legs of a piglin. Gasping, he scrambled back, like he could run from the things attached to his body. He whined, something catching on his lip. He reached up fearfully, clawed hands poking the slightly sore tusks coming out of his bottom jaw. 

Tommy gapped, shocked to silence as his thoughts raced. 

He had heard of things like this happening before to people. Where the environment they were in was so hostile or magical, that their body changed to adapt and survive, but he had never expected it to happen to him.

Slowly, he braced himself on the warm netherrack wall, pulling himself up on unsteady legs. He felt stupid. Like a baby giraffe on ice. He growled in annoyance, long, golden hair falling over his shoulders, “Just what I needed, to learn how to walk again.”

He blinked, his voice had become a lot deeper, more gravely and intimidating. He also noticed he wasn’t as thirsty as he usually was, his body bigger and his head bent low to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling he had once been able to walk comfortable under. He stumbled forward on his unsteady new legs, clawed hands digging into the walls, leaving deep claw marks behind. He smirked, small tusks catching slightly on his upper lip. Once he figured out to walk again, he was going to kick the nether’s ass.

\-------------------  
It had been a long, long while since Tommy had changed now. His tusks had grown, sticking out of his mouth all the time now, his ears had grown as well, become larger and pointed, making it easier to pick out sounds and he had adapted to his new legs quickly. It was a lot easier to move through the nether now, hooves digging into the ground and powerful legs pushing him fast then he could have gone back when he was human. His skin had also gained resistance to the unending fires and heat. 

Smirking, he dug ‘Suprise Bitch’ into the skull of a Wither Skeleton, watching it crumble into dusk. 

He froze, ears perking up. He could hear the clash of weapons and the telltale sound of Blaze fire. He shrugged it off, thinking it was just some piglins that got caught up in a fight when he heard a familiar voice, “Watch out!”

He whirled around, running down the hallway with his pickaxe gripped in tight hands, hooves clacking loudly against the red bricks as he turned a corner. Tommy spotted two figures in diamond and gold armour. One was on the ground, broken shield raised height to give them some protection as the second one fought the Blazes, but they too, where stuck on defense, being backed into a corner. 

Tommy launched himself forward, swinging the pickaxe down with a roar onto the fiery head of a blaze. Growling, he turned, axe forming in his other hand just in time to dig itself into the body of another Blaze.  
He got into a rhythm quickly, becoming a whirlwind of gold as his weapons cut down the Blazes with and efficiency you could only gain from fighting all your life. With a final crack, the last of the Blazes went down, and Tommy smiled, brushing the lose hair that fell out of his braid behind his ear.

“Um, excuse me?” Came a feminine, soft spoken voice from behind him. He stiffened, turning to meet the familiar, kind eyes of Nihachu. 

“Thank you for the help, we were handling it, but then a bunch of them suddenly spawned in,” She explained.

Tommy nodded, opening his mouth for a second before clearing his throat, not used to speaking, “It’s no problem. Happens to the best of use.”

“Well, I’m glad you showed up, I wouldn’t want to lose everything again,” Came the voice of Jackmanifold, who grimaced and threw the destroyed shield to the side. 

Tommy just nodded, not knowing what to say after not interacting with people for so long. Where would he even start? It had been so long since he had seen anyone.

“I’m Niki, and this is Jack,” Nihachu introduced, holding out a gloved hand to Tommy, “What’s your name? I haven’t seen you before.”

Tommy blinked, staring at her in shock. He knew he had changed but did he really look that different, He opened his mouth to tell her that it was him, it was Tommy, when paranoia set in. If they knew, would they tell Dream? Would he have to start again? Would he lose everything again? 

‘We can’t trust anyone Tommy!’

Wilbur's voice echoed in his head, and he winced slightly, but took her hand anyways, “Call me Theseus,” The name rolled of his tongue before he could think about it.

Niki smiled softly, “Thank you again for the help, Theseus. If there’s anything you need, you can come visit me or Jack near a place called L’Manburg. We’d be happy to welcome you.”

Tommy just nodded, ignoring the panic and fear in his gut. He rested ‘Suprise bitch’ on his shoulder, “I’ll think about it, but I’m used to being on my own.”

Jack raised any eyebrow behind the red and blue glasses, “You sort of look familiar, do you have any relatives?”

“Nope,” Tommy said, it wasn’t a lie. He had raised himself, and well Wilbur had been like a brother to him before, they were never really related despite what everyone thought. 

“Really? Do you know a Technoblade? You know, piglin hybrid, big scary fellow, wears a crown,” Jack contiued. 

“Whoa, assuming all piglin hybrids know each other? That’s kinda racist, isn’t it?” Tommy deflected, smirking as Jack sputter.

Turning, Tommy threw a wave over his shoulder, “It was nice seeing you, but I have things to do. See you around.”

Jack sighed, “He’s right, Niki, we should get back to L’Manburg, we don’t want to be late.”

Tommy stopped, looking back over his shoulder cautiously, “Late for what?” 

Niki looked up at him with sad eyes, “2 years ago today, a... friend of ours, named Tommy, disappeared, killed by a creeper well he was exiled. This was the day he would have been able to return, so L’Manburg is holding an event to mark it.”

Tommy stared at her, a million thoughts going through his head. It had been 2 years? They really thought he was dead? They were actually upset about it? 

Jack sighed, “Felt horrible when I learned what happened, Tubbo, who was president at the time, resigned and had been on a wild goose chase since looking for him. He hasn’t been taking care of himself.”

Tommy stepped right up to them, grabbing Jack’s shoulder in what was probably a too tight grip, “Can I go to it?” he asked, heart in his throat.

“Well, yeah, everyone's invited. It’s to celebrate and remember everything Tommy’s done for L’Manburg,” He explained, surprised at the suddenness of the stranger. 

Tommy stared at them in opened mouth shock. A celebration? For everything he’d done? He ignored the voice in the back of his head telling him this was a trick, and smiled nervously, “Oh, um, could you lead me there? I don’t really know how to get… there” He finished lamely. It wasn’t a lie though, he hadn’t been able to figure out where the nether hub portal was, both from a combination of just avoiding it and the land changing as more and more paths were added and changed by the people.

Jack and Niki gave each other a look, before Niki nodded quickly, “Yeah, just follow us.”

And with that, the group of three traveled out of the fortress, avoiding as many fights as they could to get there faster. Soon, the netherrack underfoot changed to a familiar cobblestone path as the nether hub came into view. It had been cleaned up, now made of stone brick and glass protecting the much larger portal. Tommy glanced around, trying to spot all the new paths and changes.

Jack and Niki stepped through the portal with one last nervous look over their shoulders at Tommy, who watched them disappear in the swirling purple.

It was the first portal he had seen up close for the first time in 2 years. 

Sure, he had spotted them from a distance, but he usually took that as a sign he needed to move further away to avoid being discovered, and he hadn’t gone through one since he first left.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped through it, letting the purple glow take him away from his exile.

He could feel the wind. Eyes closed; he lifted his head up, just breathing the air as he felt the sun gently warm him. He had forgotten how it felt. Slowly, Tommy opened his eyes, taken in the world around him as he stepped forward, circling slightly. It was so much cooler then he remembered, making him wish for the first time in years that he had some sort of jacket to shield him from the cold.

His eyes fell on the community house, gasping quietly. The blue, coral filled water shined in the light of the day. Stumbling slightly in his rush to get down the stairs, he knelt on one of the wooden bridges that lead to the community house. Dropping his axe, he cupped his hands in the cool, wonderful water, laughing quietly to himself. 

“Theseus?” He jumped slightly, looking up at the nervous face of Jack, Niki just over his shoulder, “You good?”

Tommy looked back down at the water trickling through his fingers. He let it fall, picking his axe back up as he stood “Yep.”

Niki and Jack shared a look, probably thinking he was crazy now, but lead him to L’Manburg. It was so much bigger than he remembered, lanterns filling the sky while new, bigger buildings filled the streets. Tommy let his eyes wander well he was led to the centre of L’Manburg. There, a statue stood of a young boy standing proud. Before it knelt another boy, now older, once small horns curling up and back, hair pulled into a loose ponytail with a notebook clutched to his chest. Surrounding him was everyone on the server, looking down at him was pity and sadness. 

Tommy was shocked to see Dream there, standing near the back without any armour in sight, tears staining his face. 

“Niki, Jack” Tommy turned, blinking in surprise when the tired eyes of Quackity fell on them. He was wearing a suit, the tie un-done and hanging loosely around his neck, “You’re late”

Jack scratched the back of his neck, “Um, yeah, got held up in a nether fortress, which is where we found this guy!” He explained, pushing Tommy forward.

“Um, hey?” Tommy greeted awkwardly, waiting to finally be recognized. He really couldn’t have changed that much.

Quackity just sighed though, holding out his hand, “Alex Quackity. President of L’Manburg. Welcome.”

Tommy blinked, surprised, but shook his hand anyways, being mindful of his claws, “…. Theseus,” He introduced, unsure if he should reveal himself yet.

Quackity turned back to the statue, sighing softly, “Sorry it’s so down right now. We’re just… missing someone.”

Tommy looked up at the statue, then at the broken man kneeling in front of it. He slowly began walking forward, ignoring Niki when she reached out to warn him to be gentle. He stopped once he was beside Tubbo’s crying form, looking to read the inscription on the bottom of the statue.

“Beloved friend and hero. May he, and his sacrifices always be remembered,” He read, breaking the silence that had overtook the square. He looked down at Tubbo, noticing for the first time what laid in front of him. 

Two familiar, worn disks. 

Eyes widening, he crouched down, moving slowly as Tubbo stiffened. He picked them up, inspecting them with a soft smile. 

“Been awhile since I’ve seen these,” He looked around, the people now staring at him, some in shock, others in anger, “… Um, anyone got a jukebox?” he asked.

Tubbo sighed, but opened up his inventory, placing a jukebox on the ground beside him. Tommy smiled softly, putting Cat into the slot. He took a deep breath, letting the music wash over him. 

The square stood in silence, just letting the music play as they watched the familiar stranger stand beside the broken boy.

‘You know, I think that statue is outdated,” Tommy stated quietly. Tubbo looked up for the first time, dull eyes filled with confusion. 

Tommy pushed down his fear, and kept speaking, “I would much rather it have me like I am now, the tusks are way cooler, wouldn’t you say big man?” He asked, smiling nervously.

Tubbo’s eyes widened, staring at Tommy in shock, before scrambling up to face him, “....Tommy?”

Tommy smiled nervously, opening his arms, “The one and only Tommy Kraken Danger Innit,” He lowered himself into a dramatic bow, “At your service.”

Tubbo stared at him, shock and disbelief evident on his features. He took a shaky breath, tears forming in his eyes as he dropped the notebook to the ground, forgotten, as he threw himself into Tommy’s arms, sobbing into his shoulder, “I knew it, I knew you were alive. I knew it!” He exclaimed. Tommy smiled softly, rubbing his hand in slow circles on Tubbo’s back, not bothered that Tubbo was digging his nails into his tough skin like he would disappear if he let go.  
“Yeah, I’m alive” Tommy said softly, hugging Tubbo tightly as tears dripped down his cheeks.

Later, after questions were answered and tearful hugs given, two friends walked to the ruins of a place that never felt like a home and was much too cold to meet the waiting ghost of a former friend and leader to receive a long overdue gift, so the two would never lose each other again.

**Author's Note:**

> This got to long and I kind of rushed the end to just get it done because it just kept going.
> 
> I made a lot of the nether stuff up.
> 
> Dream is totally out of character but I didn't feel like writing evil dream


End file.
